Austin Rapper Sees Busking as Steppingstone to Success

byBrandon Jenkins

On Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights, Karl Anthony arrives on West Sixth Street around 11:15 p.m. in a silver Jeep Wrangler. He parks alongside the curb, turns his hazard lights on and sets up two amplifiers, lighting equipment and a microphone — all of which are needed to prepare for a three-hour shift rapping to the crowd of revelers, some of whom toss money into a box in front of Anthony. On a good evening, he can make more than $1,200.

Longhorn Basketball Great Gives Back by Opening His Own Gym

byBrandon Jenkins

One of the more decorated basketball players in Longhorn history is now hoping to change lives with the game that changed his.

UT Alerts Questioned After More Gun Violence

byKevin Malcolm Jr.

UT has a policy to send alerts via email and/or text when a crime has been reported and there is an ongoing threat to campus.

Advocates Say Electric Cooperatives Adopting ‘Unfriendly’ Solar Policies

byJill Ament

Liberty Hill resident Richard Hrabik has debated installing solar panels on his home since he moved in 38 years ago.  “I’ve always been interested, but it was never really affordable,” said Hrabik, a retired computer software engineer. “Now panels have gotten to where you can afford them. So, I decided to go for it.”
Not long after Hrabik had his panels installed, the Pedernales Electric Cooperative’s board of directors in December 2020 proposed a significant rate increase for its customers who have solar panels — a 20-25% increase, according to some estimates.

Kaiba White, an energy policy and outreach specialist with Public Citizen Texas, a nonprofit consumer advocacy organization, said PEC didn’t explain these moves adequately to customers. She’s been helping Hrabik and dozens of other PEC solar customers challenge the increases since the summer.

“When members started to find out about this, especially those with solar or who were considering solar, there was an outcry,” White said. 

Amid Pandemic and Stress, UT Freshman Finds Safe Place in Songwriting

byLauren Goodman

http://reportingtexas.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/IMG_4500.mov When Bird Anderson started writing songs around 7 years old, they were about things around her like Legos. Growing up, her house was often filled with the noise of banging drums, guitars or banjos as her father taught Bird and her three brothers to play different instruments. “[Songwriting] developed more into how I like […]

NIL: A Level Playing-Field for Athletes

byZach Dimmitt

At advanced levels of sports, particularly college athletics, fairness within the game is generally set by rules and regulations with judgments on right and wrong as black and white as the stripes on referees’ jerseys. But when the business side of things takes center stage as it has in recent years, the argument of what’s fair and what’s not becomes much more clouded.

The Naked History of Hippie Hollow

bySteven Morvant

In a city that prides itself on being weird, Hippie Hollow remains one of Austin’s most unique places. At this county park, stone steps wind their way down a rocky shore on Lake Travis. The Texas sun’s harsh rays are reflected off of the clear waters as the trees provide some shade to bathers. The […]

Austin Amps Up Communication to Answer Concerns About Feared Return of Deadly Winter Storm

byZach Dimmitt

No one could have seen it coming. In a state like Texas, bitter cold temperatures are common during the short winter months, but what happened on Valentine’s Day of 2021 was almost as likely as hell freezing over. The storm, that has come to be known as Winter Storm Uri, brought unprecedented low temperatures to […]

UT Students Participate in Austin’s Expansive Climbing Community

byHailin Zhang

From group outings to nearby climbing gyms to joining climbing organizations and competing, the sport of climbing has taken hold at the University of Texas at Austin, creating a entirely new community and culture. Climbing’s popularity has skyrocketed recently—especially in the United States, which has witnessed numerous gym openings each year. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, […]

A Podcast: James White’s Legacy Unbroken at The Broken Spoke

byDanielle Streetenberger and Sarah Velasquez

James White, the founder of the The Broken Spoke, died almost a year ago in January 2021. But his presence and vision lives on through the vibrato of cowboy boots two-stepping across the legendary honky-tonk’s dance floor to the wail of traditional country music. Reporting Texas’ Danielle Streetenberger and Sarah Velasquez sat down with White’s […]

Texas’ Famed Bigtooth Maple Trees Are Being Loved to Death by Deer

byPaula Levihn-Coon

Since the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department opened Lost Maples State Natural Area to the public in 1979, thousands of people have enjoyed its colorful beauty in the Texas Hill Country. It has been particularly well-visited during the pandemic, with attendance reaching record highs.scientists have collected data indicating that the future of these trees and the pleasure many take from their color palette could be at risk. An overabundance of white-tailed deer has been killing young trees by browsing on them.

14 Years and a Reversed Veto Later, Dog Advocates Get Their Animal Cruelty Law

byCristela Jones

A new Texas law requires drinking water for outdoor animals, prohibits the use of chain restraints and eliminates a 24-hour waiting period that kept animal control officers from addressing tethered animal situations immediately.

Austin Theater Groups Look to Post-Pandemic Future

byVeronica Apodaca

Live theater felt the effects of the pandemic deeply.

UT’s Black Faculty Numbers Are Up — But Just Barely

byEniola Longe

Five years after Reporting Texas detailed a disproportionately low number of Black faculty members at the University of Texas at Austin, the situation has barely improved. In 2016, 3.6% of UT-Austin professors were Black. In 2020, that number had only risen to 4.1%, about 156 of close to 3,800 faculty members, according to university data. And UT-Austin is not alone among Texas colleges in lacking Black faculty.

NFTs are leveling the playing field for Black artists. Here’s why.

byPamela Hall Vance

This new digital marketplace came into the public eye in the past year. It is now opening doors for Black artists in Central Texas who might have struggled to sell their work in traditional galleries and navigate an art world with museum collections that have been reported to be more than 85% white.

Climate Change Impacting Austin Real Estate Not So Hard to Fathom

byBrendan Long

After graduating from the University of Texas in May 2021, Sami Sparber ran into the same issue many Austin residents are facing – too few places available for rent or sale. “If you found a place to live, you had to apply right away because within hours or days that unit could be gone,” Sparber […]

Archery Gaining Popularity in Central Texas

byZacharia E. Washington

People’s desire to provide their own meat and to get outside during the COVID-19 pandemic, combined with the influence of movies featuring archery and celebrities promoting the sport, fueled an increase in archery participation.

Despite Higher Prices and Short Supply, Texas Heritage Turkey Farms Are Thriving 

byEniola Longe

Across the country, the demand for heritage turkeys — a variety of domestic turkeys retaining historic characteristics from the mid-20th Century — has been on the rise since 2005 with the popularity of the slow food movement.

A Dozen Years On, Austin Organization Still Offering Stuffed Animals for Adoption 

byAlexa K. Haverlah 

Austin resident Wendy Mitchell has offered stuffed animals for adoption for a decade.

Dia de los Muertos Provides Opportunity to Celebrate, Educate

byTaryn Courville

The scenery is a burst of color. Lines of patterned flags blow in the wind and paper marigolds decorate altars and hair. Performers walk around covered in face paint, dressed in traditional Mexican dresses or Aztec costumes. The sound of mariachi, drums and shell embellished ankle cuffs fills the area. Attendees of the Dia de […]